CELIA, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD (AND PERCY) IN BONHAMS HOCKNEY SALE
A rare signed proof copy of David Hockney’s lithograph ‘An Image of Celia’ in the original frame hand painted by the artist is the star item in sale dedicated to Hockney’s work at Bonhams on 20 April.
Dating from the mid-1980s, the Picasso-like image of Hockney’s close friend, the textile designer Celia Birtwell, is estimated at between £60,000- 80,000. It leads a sale which covers the whole spectrum of Hockney’s output and techniques from the early ‘Fires of Furious Desire - The Most Beautiful Boy in the World’ of 1963 (£4,000-6,000) to his ‘Lithograph of Water’ from the late 1970s (315,000-20,000); three huge and stunning variations of ‘Hotel Acatlan’ executed in the mid 1980 (estimates range from £15,000- 30,000) and ‘Winter Road near Kilham’an Inkjet printed computer drawing from 2008 (£10,000-15,000).
A particularly appealing work is ‘George, Blanche, Celia, Albert and Percy’ a photo-collage made up of 68 pictures from 1983 (£15,000 – 20,000). Percy is the white cat – surely one of the most famous cats in the world - which appears in one of Hockney’s best loved paintings – ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy’.
The sale also includes two rarities - an earthenware ceramic cat (£5,000-7,000) from 1955 when Hockney was just 18 and a pencil drawing from the following year, ‘Houses near Eccleshill’, Bradford £4,000-6,000.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas.For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go towww.bonhams.com